All the Shiva temples were reverberating with the chanting of “om namah shivaya”, hara hara mahadeva” on the occasion of Mahashivarathri celebrations in various parts of Karimnagar district on Thursday.

There was heavy surge of pilgrims at Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy devasthanam (also known as Dakshin Kashi) in Vemulawada of Karimnagar district since Wednesday onwards. The devotees formed serpentine queues since early hours after taking a holy dip in the ‘dharmagundam’.

Government Whip Arepalli Mohan, DCCB chairman K Ravinder Rao offered silk vastrams on behalf of the state government on Thursday early hours. Devasthanam chairman Bomma Venkateshwar and the temple authorities have accorded a traditional welcome to the dignitaries. Special prayers would be held at the temple shrine on Thursday evening.

Similarly, Sri Kaleshwara Muktheshwara Swamy devasthanam in Kaleshwaram of Mahadevpur mandal also witnessed heavy pilgrims rush. People took holy dip in the river Godavari and offered prayers at the temple shrine. Karimnagar range DIG RB Naik had offered prayers at the shrine. It is learnt that the general public faced several problems in having darshan following the authorities according priority for the VIPs.

Other Shiva shrines were also packed with the devotees in various parts of Karimnagar district including Karimnagar town.

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Workers carryingout repairs to Visakhapatnam District Collector's Office, as it was damaged in Cyclone Hudhud in 2014 October. The majestic heritage building was designed and built by Dutch engineering company Gannon Dunkerly in 1865 and completed by 1914. Photos: C.V. Subrahmanyam